Let Me Play You the Crystalsong of My People (Corporate Expansion of Crystalsong and Location Dev Th

[Popo]

Crystalsong. A place of rolling fields, massive trees, lovely wildlife, and strange cultures. It was a place of allure, mystery, and the unknown. It was a planet known for its culinary skill, wide variety of sentient beings, and... well, crystals. Lots of crystals.

The low amount of technology on the planet coupled with the high amount of natural resources made the backwater planet a prime target for Tenloss Corporation. Between selling technology to the natives, harvesting the natural resources there, and helping to build up the Coruscanti colony on the planet, there was a large amount of credits to be made.

Currently, Popo had managed to purchase land very cheaply from the leader of the Coruscanti colony and, at the moment, was overseeing the installation of Tenloss' very first trading post on Crystalsong. He'd taken everything into account from location to security, from the item stock to sale prices. The only thing he hadn't taken into account was very simple and easily overlooked.

He'd bought a bloody swamp.

Popo sat back in his armor and gazed blankly at the swathe of swampy land before him. Nearby, he knew his workers were busy draining the small swampy area. Behind him stood several cargo shuttles, construction vehicles, and a wide variety of raw materials to build the first trading post there. They'd start building as soon as the ground was viable.

Thing was, Popo had to wait.

 

[Popo]

And wait he did. And wait some more. Two days he waited until the swamp was drained. Then another three to make sure the ground was truly dry. It was frustrating, but it had to be done. The workers lived in small, prefab dwellings nearby while Popo slept in one of the shuttles. He could sleep in the prefab dwelling, but there weren't any that were truly Hutt sized. The shuttle was a little noisy, but it was roomy enough that Popo could get comfortable.

He had just woken up and was making his way outside when the rumble of machinery got his attention. Glancing around, he happily realized that the construction crews had begun setting up the prefab building. Machines had leveled out the ground and tamped it down solid. The rest of the crews were getting the building ready to go.

The structure wasn't a permanent one. At least, not a long term permanent building. It was designed to last a good few years until a larger, permanent structure could be built from native materials. Popo mulled over the concept of using either stone or crystal before settling on stone. It was cheaper and easier to handle and shape. Plus, it was easier to repair in the long run. Possibly cheaper as well.

Nearby, a few construction crews worked on setting up a perimeter fence. It wasn't anything special, just a three meter tall duracrete wall. It was thick enough to resist anything that the natives could throw at the trading post and possibly most heavy weapons they had available, plus it was thick enough for a perimeter guard to walk along. Add in that it was to cover the whole area plus a gatehouse and things were looking good.

 

[Popo]

As the prefab building kept going up, more was done on the grounds around it. The perimeter wall kept going up slowly. Duracrete pieces were shipped in, the installation area prepped, and then the wall piece installed. They were about as thick as they were tall and around four meters long. Each section was sunk into the ground, stabilized, and then bolted and secured to the section next to it.

A ways away, the gatehouse was being constructed. It was less a gatehouse and more a controlled entryway. It had two doors and enough room inside for all but the largest of vehicles. The concept was simple in both implementation and practice. Newcomers entered the outer gate and stepped into the area between the two doors. Once there, the outer gate closed and the inner gate opened. In this way, it kept any would be intruders penned in and under surveillance the entire time. Plus, if anyone tried anything while there, or if the person attempting entry was a wanted criminal or known problem, they could be easily trapped in the space between the doors. This made them easy to capture or, in dire straights or with highly dangerous individuals, simple to execute as the top of the area was open and walkways for armed guards were all around.

It was a brutal, nasty way to operate with such a thing, but with backwater outposts like this... it was pretty much necessary.

 

[Popo]

The wall continued to go up and the main building was nearly done. Here and there other crews started working on setting up smaller outlying buildings and the gatehouse was wrapping up. Popo watched as one of the crews lifted one of the thick, durasteel doors into place. Each door was equivalent to a starship's blast doors in thickness and durability and each was powered by a strong motor to open and close them. Short of dedicated weapons or someone dumb enough to run at the gates with a lightsaber, it would hold.

Along the length of the walls as they were set up, yet more crews were doing the simple job of digging. Specifically, digging a moat. This did two things. First, it made it even harder to approach the walls for any attackers. Second, even if the attackers did manage to drain or otherwise fill in the moat, it still made the walls taller. The net gain in protection was worth it in his opinion.

The moat would go around the entire complex and be filled with some of the drained swamp water. At the gatehouse, there would be a small drawbridge that allowed the defenders to seal up the trading post with ease, forcing attackers to bypass the moat first.

Within the complex, however, more crews were clearing a wide area and laying down more duracrete. This was to be the landing pad for the post. Shuttles and ships could easily land within the protection of the trading posts' walls to load and offload cargo. He could have put it ouside the walls, but in the case of a protracted siege, that could be problematic and costly. It was better to place it within the walls, allowing his men and crews the ease of resupply.

 

[Popo]

The wall continued and the gatehouse was receiving its finishing touches. The landing pad was mostly done and the main building was nearing completion. The outlying buildings were more or less wrapping up and the moat was following the wall in time frame. All in all, it was coming along swimmingly.

Now Popo watched as a large, spacious warehouse looking building went up. It was the motor pool where the vehicles were kept, maintained, and stored. It wasn't designed to be a permanent structure, much as the rest of the buildings, but the duracrete on the ground was already set and ready to go. The frame itself was easy enough to assemble and finalize, all it needed was a little stocking up to do.

As Popo's thoughts hit what exactly was to go into the motor pool, another shuttle landed nearby and the first vehicles rolled out to fill the garage. Two R-10-8s rolled down onto the soil and chugged up through the mostly finished gate. Their treads ground down the dirt and soil, leaving two sizable furrows in the ground in their path. From there, they made their way up and into the garage where they parked and the crews began breaking them down.

From another shuttle rumbled more tanks. A quartet of R-10s trundled down and away, joining their brothers in the garage. Another two tanks rolled out, these being the twin R-10-AA tanks. Both were designed to engage enemy aircraft and the tank was very good at it. It could also be used to fire on infantry in a pinch, which was useful on backwater worlds like this.

All in all, the garage held two R-10-8s, four R-10s, and two R-10-AAs. There was, however, one or two more things that needed adding so far to outfit them properly.

 

[Popo]

The windy roar of heavy engines echoed from within the last transport and an armored behemoth emerged from the shuttle's bowels. The predatory machine rode on its repulsors down to the base of the ramp and made its way up the makeshift road to the garage. A huge barrel tracked back and forth, the crew checking to ensure all mechanisms were working. From the top hatch a figure stood with head and shoulders clear of the cupola.

Popo had brought a Skocha.

It was slowly showing its age in the current warfare going on. Other companies began copying Tenloss and placing proton cannons on their tanks and walkers. Thankfully, however, none had taken the time and effort to place the J-1 proton cannon into them. Standard proton cannons were nasty, brutal weapons of war... but the J-1 wore the crown.

Capable of piercing most enemy shields and armor in a single shot, the J-1 mounted on the Skocha gave the tank its innate lethality. The heavy armor and powerful shields and engines gave the Skocha its durability and maneuverability. These things together made the Tenloss Skocha the king of the battlefield.

A Skocha wasn't really necessary on a planet such as this. The natives here would be easily subdued by the R-10s and R-10-8s along with the infantry support Popo brought, which were unloading as the tanks were.

However, the R-10s and such couldn't do what the Skocha did. The Skocha intimidated. The Skocha terrified. Popo had seen soldiers run full tilt from his Skochas and enemy tanks rush to disengage. The proton cannon it carried would destroy anything it targeted and the enemy knew it. To face a Skocha alone was to die.

And Popo had brought one to Crystalsong.

 

[Popo]

The main building was done and the wall around was nearing completion. The moat would follow suit and the gatehouse was finished. The drawbridge was installed and the outlying buildings were nearly finished. Popo had watched the lone Skocha pull into the motor pool and heard the crews breaking it down. More materials and machines offloaded and were stowed within the complex while Tenloss Security made their way in to garrison the place.

There were roughly five hundred soldiers guarding the trading post. It was a bit much, but with such a backwater world it was necessary. Too few and they'd have little manpower to do much more than a few paltry patrols here and there. Too many and the logistics would be horrific. For now, Popo would start with the five hundred men. It was an oversized company of troops, but he figured it would be necessary to keep the colonists, and his trading post, safe from the locals when and if needed.

Popo watched the soldiers trek into the garrison building group by group and get settled. From here on out, it was just getting the buildings done, getting the staff and soldiers settled, and getting the supplies sorted.

Oh, and setting up the actual trading post.

 

[Popo]

Popo worked with his foremen to set up the communications suite in the main structure as well as to get the armory settled. The armory would hold all the weapons the troops here would need and host a firing range next door. The comms would go in the middle of the main structure where it was harder to assault. Overtop all of this was the shield generator now being installed in the center of the complex. The shields would help keep the complex more or less safe from heavy assault when needed, though Popo doubted that would ever happen.

Elsewhere, the wall was finished and the moat was wrapped up. Murky swamp water flowed through the dug in channel and everything seemed in order. The troops were settling in and generally getting to know the base itself. As the massive Hutt gazed out of the main building's window, he spotted a small squad of security troopers scouting the local area on Stinger speeder bikes.

Out on the landing pad, more shuttles arrived and dropped off supplies. The pad wasn't huge, but could easily hold three or four cargo shuttles or, perhaps, a freighter or two. The Hutt heard the post's generators being installed downstairs. Two massive powerhouses were being placed in the new basement of the building. The two together powered all of the post's needs and then some. Plus, just in case, there was an emergency back up generator. In the event one or even both of the main generators went offline, the backup could keep things running for a while longer, though it couldn't power everything.

All in all, everything was shaping up quite nicely.

 

[Popo]

The comm suite was installed and the shield array finished up. More supplies were offloaded and stowed away inside the complex. The armory was built and ready for use and the weapons and ammunition stocked up within. A small med bay was set up on the bottom floor of the main building and a small amount of medical personnel made their way to get it set up. The post's shield generators were installed completely, including the back up generator, and the base hummed with power now.

More patrols went out on Stingers here and there. Most were to find and secure the perimeter of the post while a few were sent out to map the area for further patrols. Later, the post's commander would make contact with the colonists to start setting up supply lines and begin building up relations once more. They had sounded leery of Tenloss showing up when Popo had negotiated the land buy, but even their leery tone couldn't hide the curiosity they held for the technology Tenloss could bring.

The last thing to be built was the trading post itself. It was constructed outside of the walls and along the makeshift road leading up to the gates. It was only just being built and was a simple structure. It would hold a variety of goods and offer services to the locals that weren't available before, though for weapons the sales would be within the post itself. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Popo]

The trading post was finished up rather quickly, all things considered. It was a simple wooden building set up like a general store out front of the gates of the complex. The small building stored food, technology, equipment, and a wide array of necessary items colonists on a backwater world would need.

For things like weapons and heavy machinery, buyers needed to enter the actual complex. Inside they would find the weapons they desired and the machines they wanted. The price would be high, but by Galactic standards, they were a steal. The way Popo saw it was that they wouldn't make a huge profit initially, but cheap goods and services would win the populace over quickly, meaning that Tenloss would have a large source of income down the line.

The complex itself was finished and ready to go. A three meter tall wall ran the perimeter of the complex and was easily three meters deep. A wide moat surrounded the perimeter and made access to the walls almost impossible. A sequenced gatehouse kept intruders and would be trouble makers under easy surveillance and, if needed, kept the individual or individuals easily captured or taken down. A shield generator kept the installation safe while a powerful comm array allowed the garrison to communicate with the rest of the galaxy. Hundreds of Tenloss Security guarded the complex and were backed by armored vehicles, including the renowned Skocha tank.

Popo nodded once in satisfaction. This was the dawn of a new day for Tenloss.

This was the dawn of a corporate controlled world.